NCJ Number
150407
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: (September 1994) Pages: 3-22
Date Published
1994
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Focusing on the dimensions of family, community, media, and the legal system, this study investigated socialization and risk-taking behavior in a sample of 100 Danish and 133 American adolescents, 17 and 18 years old.
Abstract
The study identified more differences than similarities between the two cohorts. American parents were more likely to establish weeknight and weekend curfews than Danish parents, but in many other respects, the socialization experience of Danish adolescents was narrower. Danish teenagers had more responsibilities in their homes, more contact with extended family members, more familiarity with their neighbors, and more stable attachments to their communities than their American counterparts. They are also legally prohibited from driving until age 18, which obviously reduced their vehicle- related risk-taking behavior. Danish adolescents were more sexually active than their American counterparts, but the level of sexual activity without contraception was about equal between the groups. Use of marijuana and cigarettes was essentially the same in both countries, but the Americans had higher rates of other types of illegal drug use than the Danes. Finally, the American adolescents reported higher rates of shoplifting and vandalism. 2 tables and 27 references